Wednesday, July 19, 2006

On Dogs and Death

Freud was wrong about a lot of things, but he was right about us humans also being animals. Is this why we love them?

They say that murderers often start with animal torture. Not surprising to me.

I saw a rabbit this morning as I walked to the train. Excitedly, I took a picture. Lanky and brown with a cotton tail.My 8 month old daughter gets excited when our cats enter the room. I did not teach her this. The cats themselves knew she was a baby when we brought her from the hospital. I did not train them for this.My wife did not grow up with pets but understands the lessons pets provide and teach us humans as we raise our daughter: responsibility, entertainment, feeding, defecating, compassion, the life cycle, and constant, unconditional friendship.

I think back at when I was a kid, depressed about something, but unable to understand the depression, that it was temporary...unable to verbalize what I was feeling. At those saddest, most lonesome moments, our dog seemed to seek me out and, unannounced, licked my face.

It always worked to cheer me up. He knew perhaps that life was fleeting and it more rewarding to sing than sulk.